All the Stuff That's on the Moon (That We Know Of)

Stories spread across the Web this week about how Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke left a family portrait on the moon. The space-traveling snapshot has lots of company. About 400,000 pounds of man-made stuff can be found on the lunar surface.

All the Stuff That's on the Moon (That We Know Of)

All the Stuff That's on the Moon (That We Know Of)

Anywhere humans go they leave trash. The moon is no exception. Everyone knows about our tradition of leaving star-spangled banners on the lunar surface after a landing, but we've deposited more than just flags and footprints. A lot more.

First, there are the commemorative items: Official tokens that Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong left behind include a silicon disk containing goodwill messages from 73 world leaders (Pope Paul IV among them), a golden olive branch, an American flag, (which they knocked down as they left, prompting later visitors to plant their flags farther from their modules), a piece of the Wright Brothers' first plane, a patch from the never-launched Apollo 1 mission, and a commemorative plaque. Apollo 15 left The Fallen Astronaut, a 3-inch aluminum sculpture by Paul Van Hoeydonck that honors 14 spacefarers who have died in missions or training.

Astronauts have left unofficial keepsakes behind too. Apollo 14 Commander Alan Shepard famously hit two golf balls on the surface of the moon, and they're still up there. We learned this week that Charles Duke, an Apollo 16 crew member, left a photo of his family. Alan Bean, during his trip with Apollo 12, tossed his silver astronaut pin into a moon crater. The reason? The silver wings, which he'd had for six years, signified having trained for a space mission but not gone on one. Because he would receive his gold wings once he returned to Earth, he decided to leave the silver pin behind.